Dance festival at the Baxter

Above: Dancers from Taare entertaining the audience at the Baxter Dance Festival.

Fourteen dance works of different lengths and styles, by various choreographers, from groups, studios and crews in the Athlone area, will perform at the 12th annual Baxter Dance Festival from tomorrow, Thursday October 6 to Saturday October 15.

There will be seven works for the EOAN Group by choreographers Abeedah Medell, Ebrahim Medell, Mishkaah Medell, Leticia Fisher, Natasha Rhoda and Lucille Hendricks, four from Dance for All with choreography by Phyllis Spira, Lutho Zwedala, Hope Nongqongqo and Lorraine Ndindwa and Bruno Wani, two by Alexander Sinton School of Focused Art choreographed by Anastasia Arendse and Kyle Grant, and one each by Own Reflection Dance Company choreography by Kyle Stuurman and Graham Adams, and Taare with choreography by Aneesh Valodia.

The festival opens with two performances only, which celebrate the 40th anniversary revival of Alfred Hinkel’s classic Bolero and John Linden’s Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, on Thursday October 6 and Friday October 7, at 8pm.

Hinkel’s Bolero received critical acclaim over the years and has featured dancers such as Dawn Langdon, John Linden, Jay Pather, Sifiso Kweyama, Heinrich Reisenhofer, Balu Searle, Ananda Fuchs and Sbonakaliso Ndana to mention just a few.

This latest revival will be presented by Garage Dance Ensemble with guest performers Levern Botha and Ciara Barron.

The festival continues its success of showcasing some of the best in local dance and also includes a host of dynamic works by choreographers from other regions and countries such as Okiep in Namaqualand (Alfred Hinkel, John Linden, Byron Klaasen), Johannesburg (Luyanda Sidiya), Canada (Josh Beamish) and Namibia (Hamish Olivier).

The main programme takes place from Thursday October 6 to Saturday October 15, at 8pm, and will feature over 30 works of various lengths, by established choreographers.

The off main programme, which takes place on Saturday October 8 October, at 5pm, will showcase 17 works by up-and-coming choreographers, including student choreography, while the fringe programme on Saturday October 15, at 2pm, will include 19 works by youth groups, dance studios, school groups and traditional dance groups.

One of the innovations this year is the newly introduced season ticket which allows audiences access to seven different performances on the festival’s main programme for just R250.

Booking can be made through Computicket or at any Shoprite/ Checkers outlet.

For discounted school or group block bookings, fundraisers or charities contact Sharon Ward at 021 680 3962 or email sharon.ward@uct.ac.za or Carmen Kearns on 021 680 3993 or email her at carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za. For details of the full programme visit
www.baxter.co.za

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Above: Dancers from Taare entertaining the audience at the Baxter Dance Festival.

The Athlone News (formerly the Athlone Shopper) was established in 1986 and renamed Athlone News in 2008. This long established popular community title includes the key shopping centres Kenilworth Centre and Gatesville Shopping Centre within its distribution area.